Two threads of mana, both with Needle of Life affixed, cut into Relian as he stumbled from the previous attack. One cut into the physical body, missing the heart but nicking the aorta. The other struck at the metaphysical aspect of the Fallen Shepherd's being, slicing into the meta-heart.

  Relian groaned in pain, but lashed out with his own attack. A thread of mana hurtled straight towards Luke's head, but Luke ducked to the side and deflected it with a thread of his own. Another attack followed, and this one burrowed into Luke's side. Rather than cower, Luke leaned into it and leveled a punch at the side of his opponent's head. Sometimes, a little physical violence was necessary.

  Luke attacked again with Needle of Life, while keeping a close watch on the cooldown of The Healer's Moment. If he could get that skill off now, that would end this fight right then and there. Relian was growing proficient at a staggering rate, and he was able to deflect the attack with a thread of his own.

  Ignoring the wound in his side, Luke struck again, scoring a blow at the base of Relian's neck. Blood gushed out, but the wound began closing right away. Relian diverted resources to healing himself, so Luke pressed the advantage, attacking again and again, slicing into his opponent's physical body while also attacking the metaphysical, focusing on mana channels now rather than the meta-heart itself, since Relian protected it with threads of his own.

  The sound of boots slapping against the plastic mat of the floor reached the office. Luke couldn't tell who it was, but figured it had to be one of his friends, so he ignored it. Pouring all his focus and willpower into the battle against Relian meant he had little attention to spare. Another punch made Relian double over, and Luke took the opportunity to send a knee into Relian's face. It wasn't a movement he'd practiced, but the satisfying thunk made him again want to look into martial arts, like he'd promised himself when this all started.

  Relian held up a hand. "Wait! Let's talk about this! I could teach you so much!"

  Luke did not wait. Several threads of mana plunged into Relian's chest. In a few seconds, The Healer's Moment would be off cooldown. It was time to end this.

  Arms wrapped around Luke's stomach, and he was yanked back. "Luke! What are you doing? You crazy bastard. Leave Stergios alone!"

  It took Luke by surprise, to say the least, and he lost his footing before pushing off, forcing Tim off his back. "Tim! Get away from me!"

  Before he regrouped, Relian was right there between them. A Needle of Life slammed into Luke's meta-heart, and another sliced through his neck, tearing through arteries, sinew, and muscle. The damage was catastrophic, but even with that loss of focus and surprise, at least Luke gave as well as he got. Needle of Life tore through Relian's main mana channel, cutting clean through it. Once the mana already in his mana channels dried up, that would be it. Another needle found its way into Relian's spine. With pinpoint precision, Luke disabled the Fallen Shepherd. He wouldn't be able to take another step or even breathe without healing himself with mana he couldn't spare.

  "Luke!" a voice called out. Penny.

  Another joined in. "Amigo! Acudimos en tu auxilio!"

  Luke was losing consciousness, and blood was going everywhere, but at least he'd finished Relian. There was no way he would be able to heal himself with the limited resources at his disposal. The look of horror on Tim's face was also kind of funny.

  Then it happened. Everything shifted. Except it didn't. Everything was the same, but something had happened. The surrealness meant it took Luke a second to realize what had happened, and when he next gazed into Tim's face, he knew. The Healer's Moment. This was what it was like being on the other side of having time frozen on you.

  Weaver's Eye told Luke everything he needed to know. The corruption was gone from Stergios, and the man was dead. Instead, it was in Tim's head. Relian had changed hosts again.

  "No," Luke whispered.

  Relian's expression widened into the grin Luke had seen first on the Fallen Shepherd, then on Ray, on Stergios, and now on Tim's punchable face.

  "Oh, yes," Relian said, before frowning. "The Healer's Staff? What a simpleton..."

  Penny and Mateo came rushing into the room, and Relian's grin fell away. Threads of Mana appeared in his hands as he reached out toward Luke's friends.

  "No!" Luke shouted, launching an attack of his own. Bleeding out and having spent almost all his resources already, he couldn't manage much. Not much, but it made all the difference.

  Needle of Life pierced Relian's meta-heart. Luke then sliced downward, cutting through almost the entire lower half of the most important part of an Integrated's inner systems. Relian cursed and cut through the thread without even glancing Luke's way.

  That was it. All Luke could manage in his current state. Relian reached for him.

  Rage of storm, wrath of sky!

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  Feel the bolts, hear my cry!

  Nothing lives where lightning flies!

  Blinding light filled the room as lightning struck Relian right in the chest with enough power to obliterate his shirt and toss him back. He crashed against a window, and the glass shattered, filling the room. Relian struggled to his feet and began healing his blackened chest. Tree-like burns covered his entire upper body, and one of his eyes was gone, seared out of his head.

  Mateo's spear crashed through the air and struck Relian's stomach with enough force to throw the Fallen Shepherd back against the wall, pinning him there. Without pause, he disappeared and reappeared right next to the spear, the hole in his gut bleeding. Even with his meta-heart mangled, the bastard was capable of doing so much, of surviving so much.

  Relian took a step toward Penny and Mateo, which Mateo took as his cue to charge. "?Por fin, un rival digno!"

  A breath later, Mateo flew through the room and came to a stop right in front of Penny. He wasn't moving. Relian took a step toward her.

  No, Luke would not allow it. Healing his neck wound took nothing more than a thought and some stitches. The pain, he bore, gritting his teeth as he struggled to his knees and got his hands under him. This was not lost. Not yet. Not while an ounce of mana remained within Luke's meta-heart. Mateo and Penny had brought him something precious. Time. Time for his mana to regenerate. Not much, but it was enough.

  "Relian!" Luke shouted, pushing off with his feet to throw himself toward the bastard responsible for so much suffering.

  "Half-dead and still glowing with determination," Relian began. "Perhaps you would have made a good disciple, but-"

  That's all he had time for. While it was true that Relian was the stronger of them in that moment, injured and exhausted as Luke was, Luke still held an ace that Relian lacked. It was high time he used it.

  It was time for The Healer's Moment. Luke's moment.

  Weavestep brought him within reach of Relian. After activating The Healer's Moment, Luke reached out with Threads of Mana. Like in Stergios, Luke severed the main mana channel, then pierced Relian's meta heart before sticking a Needle of Life into the Fallen Shepherd's one remaining eyeball for good measure.

  Time resumed.

  Relian cried out in pain and brought both hands to his ruined eye as it began weeping blood. A second later, he must've felt the metaphysical damage, because he let out another groan and took a step back.

  Luke's mana was all but gone, but some strength in his back and arms remained. He brought the quarterstaff out of his inventory and arced it through the air, connecting with Relian's temple. A satisfying crack rang out, and Relian stumbled back even more.

  Weaver's Eye told him the Fallen Shepherd was attempting to repair his eye, but with his meta-heart in such a poor state, he was having trouble.

  Penny was on her knees in front of Mateo's prone body. Their friend still hadn't moved. Time was running out. Luke struck Relian again, then again, pummeling him with the quarterstaff so hard his fists grew numb.

  It wasn't enough. The staff was not a weapon meant for a killing blow. Luke glanced at Mateo's spear on the floor, but knew he would not be able to wield it. No, the weapon he needed was within him. Head spinning and wracked with pain from the lack of mana, Luke made a decision. He needed to end this now, no matter what.

  With the decision made, Luke stepped up to Relian, who huddled underneath the broken window. A cool breeze swept into the room. It felt good on Luke's face. A thread and a needle, the tools of the trade. With them, he could do anything.

  Today, he would not use them to heal. He would use them to kill.

  Luke lashed out with the intent of scrambling Relian's brain and put an end to all this, but the moment it entered, the Fallen Shepherd jolted, like he was startled awake. Rather than reach out and attack, as Luke anticipated, he defended. Luke struck again and again, trying to break through Relian's defenses with Needle of Life and his fists, pummeling him to break the bastard's concentration.

  "Luke!" Penny shouted. "Mateo is dying!"

  That brought Luke out of his daze, and he lost focus for less than a breath. Relian seized the opportunity and used his physical body for the first time since they'd started trying to kill one another. He pushed away from the wall, slamming into Luke with his shoulder.

  Luke fell back. One of his knees buckled, and he blinked again and again, trying to ignore the creeping threads permeating the room, running crisscross through existence itself, as well as the being peering out at him from beyond the threads.

  Rather than attack, Relian turned and threw himself out the broken window.

  "No!" Luke shouted, hurrying to the window.

  It was getting late, but it was summer and the sun was still up. Relian should have been visible down there on the grass, but he was not. The Fallen Shepherd was gone.

  "He ran!" Luke shouted, his mouth turning up into a smile as he started laughing at the incredulity of the situation. "What the hell? He ran?" He turned to Penny. "Did you hear? Penny, he escaped!" Luke laughed again. All of a sudden, he was on the floor. What happened? Blood was pooling under him. Right, the wounds. The headache felt like his skull was about to crack and fall to pieces, and Luke's heart was slowing.

  "Luke!" Penny shouted, hurrying over to him.

  Curtis was at the door, followed by Milla and someone else. Agent Johansen? They all looked rough. Blood covered Curtis's clothes, and Milla was pale as a ghost, her fingers trembling and her eyes looking like she'd been crying. A lot.

  "Damn," Curtis said, his voice subdued. "We missed it."

  "Is he gone?" Milla asked, her lower lip trembling.

  Luke raised a finger to the window and tried to speak, but could not.

  "Take my mana," Penny said. "Heal yourself!"

  The Greater System revealed itself to him. Never before had he seen the threads with such clarity. It was more beautiful than any fireworks display, more meaningful than any choice he could ever make going forward. But there was something else there, too. In places, the weave strained under an unseen pressure. Threads were broken, edges frayed. The pattern was no longer complete. It was unraveling. In the middle of it all, the now familiar presence regarded Luke.

  "Sleep," it whispered to him. "You have done enough."

  Luke couldn't deny that a good night's sleep sounded sort of nice. Just a quick nap.

  "Luke!" Penny shouted, but he didn't listen.

  "You've worked hard. You deserve a moment of peace."

  Something hard struck Luke's side, and he found himself being rolled over onto his back, Curtis kicking him into place so he was staring up at the ceiling.

  Following that, Curtis stood over him, shaking his head. "It's not time to sleep yet, Luke." He pointed to the broken window. "Relian is out there, and your friend is dying. Are you really going to give up after coming this far?"

  His gaze shifted to meet Curtis's eyes. What an asshole. No, he wasn't done yet. Not yet.

  Luke reached out with Threads of Mana.

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